Automobile-jack.



A. B. McCULLOUGH.

AUTOMOBILE JACK.

APPLICATION FILED NOV.18, I914.

LM5,69&. Patented July 6, 1915.

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ARTHUR B. MQCULLOUGH, or CORUNNA, INDIANA.

AUTOMOBILE-JACK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July c, 1915.

Application filed November 18, 1914. Serial No. 872,774.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ARTHUR B. MCGUL- LOUGH, acitizen of the United States, residing at Corunna, in the county ofDekalb and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Automo: bile-Jacks, of which the following is aspecification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to devices for raising or lowering vehicles, andparticularly to means for bodily raising or lowering automobiles.

The primary object of my invention is the provision of a very simple andeffective mechanism whereby both the front and rear of the automobilemay be simultaneously raised, so as to take all pressure ofi the wheels,and so as to permit the engine to be run and permit all parts of themechanism, such as the differential, transmission, etc. to be examined.

A further object is to provide a mechanism of this character which shallbe very simple in construction and very light so that it may be easilyshifted to any portion of a garage, and wherein the lifting of the caris accomplished by means of a hand lever.

A further object is to so construct the lifting mechanism that the carwill be locked in its lifted position.

Further objects will appear in the course of the following description.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein-Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved automobile jack in loweredposition; Fig. 2 is an elevation thereof; Fig. 3 is a section on theline 38 of Fig. 1.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the followingdescription and designated in all parts of the accompanying drawings bylike reference numerals.

Referring to these drawings, it will be seen that my automobile jackcomprises the oppositely disposed parallel angle irons 2 which areconnected to each other so as to form a base frame, the horizontalflanges of the angle iron extending inward. These angle irons areconnected at intervals by transverse rods 3 attached to the angle ironsin any suitable manner. Disposed above the angle irons 2 forming thebase frame are the angle irons 4 which form part of the vehiclesupporting frame. These angle irons 4 may be connected to each other atinter vals by transverse braces, and are also connected to the lowerangle irons by cross braces, as will be later stated. Pivotally mountedupon the upright flanges of the lower angle irons 2 are longitudinallyadjustable arms 5. These arms 5 at their upper ends are pivotallyconnected to the downwardly extending flanges of the angle irons 4.These arms 5 are arranged in pairs at each end of the mechanism, thearms bemg arranged on each side of the device. The arms 5 when loweredare disposed in an oblique position but when raised are dis posedvertically. Also pivotally mounted upon the upwardly extending flangesof each of the angle irons 2, at opposite ends of these angle irons arethe bell crank levers 6, the short arms 7 of which are connected bymeans of the links 8 to the ends of the arms 5 and the long arms ofthese bell crank levers, normally, that is, when the upper frame israised, extend vertically upward. These vertical arms 6 of the bellcrank levers on each side are connected to each other by means oflongitudinal rod sections being connected to each other by means of turnbuckles 11. It will of course be understood that these rods 9 and 10 arepivotally (onnected to the upper ends of the arms 6. At one end of thebase frame are provided the actuating levers 12, and there are two ofthese levers, one for each of the angle irons 2 and each pivoted at itslower end to its corresponding angle iron. Each lever is connected tothe bell crank lever on that side by means of a rod 13 which isoperatively connected to the extremity of the bell crank lever. It willthus be seen that by operating the levers 12 in one direction the arms 5will be raised to a vertical position, and that by shifting the levers12 in the other direction the arms will be lowered, thus in one caseraising the upper frame which supports the car and in the other caselowering the frame. Preferably one of the levers 12is tapered orotherwise formed so 'as to fit into a socket formed in the handle 14:,this handle being detachable. These levers 12 it will be noted do notextend above the angle irons 4: when these angle irons are in theirlowered positions, and thus do not obstruct the passage of the car overthe frame if the handle 14: be detached from the lever. One or both ofthe levers is provided with a stud 15 and mounted upon one the arms 5.

or both of the angle irons 2 at the extremities thereof is a'latch 16adapted to engage over the corresponding lug. The tail of this latch isextended horizontally so that the latch may be readily operated by thefoot,'and-a spring 17 is disposed to raise the tail end of the latch.When the levers 12 are shifted so as to raise the car supporting frameto its full height, the lug or lugs 15 will engage with the latch orlatches 16 and thus the car will be held raised.

In order to brace the upper angle irons 4 and also the lower angleirons, I preferably provide the cross braces 18. These braces extendacross each other and are disposed in the plane of the arms 5. The upperand lower ends of each of the braces are angled somewhat, and theseangled ends extend through the flange of the angle iron 2 and throughthe flange of the angle iron l. These angular ends also extend throughthe meeting ends of the arm 5 and the link 8, and the angular lowerterminals of these rods extend through the pivotal centers of Nuts 19'are disposed on these angular ends of the rods 18, these nuts bearingagainst the downwardly extending flange of the angle irons and againstthe link 8. A clip 20 is also used in connection with the jack, thisclip extending over and resting on the space betweenthe upper angleirons 4 and engaging over these irons, and this clip is adapted to beused with cars having a truss. rod underthe rear axle to support thedifferential.

The operation of my invention will be obvious from what has gone before.\Vith the upper bars or rails lowered the'car is run over the jack, thejack being narrower than the width between the wheels, and when the caris in proper position the lever 12 is oper ated by means of the handleor extension 1+t so as to lift the upper rails or bars. lhese engagebeneath the axles of the car to lift the car bodily upward with thewheels off the floor. At this time the levers 12 have been shifted to ahorizontal position and engage with the latch 16, and as a consequencethe arms 5 have been lifted to a vertical posi tion as have the bracerods 18. The upper rails or bars are thus. firmly supported from thelower rails forming the base of the frame.

The bellcrank levers at this time are so disposed that their arms 6 arenearly horizontal. A. stop 21 or a pair of stops are adapted to beapplied to'one or both of the upper rails or bars, each stop beingangular in form and being held to the horizontal flange of the angleirons by bolts 22, or in any other suitable manner. These limit theoutward movement of the car and keep it in proper position. If there isany slack in the lifting rods 9 and 10 this slack may be taken up byadjusting the turn buckle 11.

. It will be obvious that with a construction of this character a.simple downward movement of the hand lever will instantly raise all.four of the wheels of the car clear of the floor, thus relieving thetires of the dead weight of the ca r when not in use and allowing therunning of the engine with no clutch thrown in and thus permits anexamination to be made of the car for differential and transmissiontrouble, and also allows the steering gear and brakes to be tested andan examination made of the four wheels for alinement.

While I have described the upper and lower rails as being composed ofangle iron, I wish it to be distinctly understood that l do not wish tobe limited to this form for the purpose. Channel iron might be used, ortubular iron might be used under some circumstances. Nor do I wish to belimited to the detail construction which I have illustrated in thedrawings and set forth in the accompanying specification.

Having described my invention, what I claim is:

A mechanism for lifting vehicles including a base frame, an axleengaging frame disposed above the base frame, bell crank levers pivotedupon the base frame, arms also pivoted upon the base frame, links havingtheir lower ends pivotally connected with the bell crank lovers, theupper ends of the arms and the upper ends of the links being pivotallyconnected with the frame, the upper ends of the arms and links havingthe same point of pivotal connection. and means for raising the axleengaging frame.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature in the presence oftwo witnesses.

ARTHUR B. McCULLOUG-H.

lVitnesses J. HARVEY KNAUER, MiLo J. THOMAS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. Q.

